1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus connected to a network and a method for requesting another apparatus to perform processing via the network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, connections of various kinds of apparatuses such as mobile phones and home electric appliances, in addition to personal computers, to a network have been becoming feasible. There is Universal Plug and Play (UPnP™), as one of network technologies enabling establishment of such an environment. The UPnP™ technology is discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-164485.
The UPnP™ technology allows devices to automatically perform all of the following processing through participate in a network: dynamically acquiring an Internet Protocol (IP) address, notifying another device of its own device information, and acquiring information about the existence and functions of another device. As a result, it becomes possible to, for example, automatically display and print, content, a moving image, and a still image stored in an apparatus such as a digital camera from another apparatus such as a mobile phone or a digital television set connected via the network without arranging necessary settings therefor in advance.
Many of digital cameras and other kinds of apparatuses work on a battery, and most of them are equipped with the auto power-off function and the resume function. Further, in processing among three apparatuses in an UPnP™ system based on HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), the transaction (statefull) function is not yet available. Therefore, in the above-described technology, the auto power-off function or the resume function of an apparatus may cause the apparatus to be shut off in the middle of processing among three apparatuses, resulting in a failure to complete the processing.